Dental Caries Progression Among U.S. Marine Corps Personnel Following Operational Deployment.

摘要

Introduction: Dental caries remains a major problem in the US military. Incipientlesions progress slowly, taking 3-4 years to progress from the enamel surfaceinto dentin. For lesions in dentin, measurable radiographic progression occurswithin 1-3 years. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that military personnelexhibit increased caries activity during operational deployments, no studies havespecifically evaluated caries incidence or lesion progression among deployedpersonnel.Objectives: To assess: (1) the overall incidence of new dental caries lesions,and (2) the frequency of caries progression among US Marine Corps personnelfollowing operational deployment.